Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-04-24
HE'.
A soxaScr on THE susH.
IMsemlnan.l

year in New South Wales that took
me into tho local post-ofiice. In the
back parlor at the Gundaroo post-ofiice
L had long chat with the son of the
postmistress--a fine young fellow, per-
haps a little over thirty. He was man
ager 20 a local sheep king, and reioiced
in the curious Christian name of Het
The following is his account OF the cir
oumstances that led TO his being so
named:
was there certainly; but I don't re-
member much about Il. Twas told. /
can vouch for the truth of il. for she
and him, too, often and often have told
il to me, and others. They've told il
apart, each by their two selves, and
they often tell j, together--she telling
about him, making him out to have
been the hero, aud he telling it all so
that she was the hero-heroine, | should
say. But l expect each of EN- always
told IL in about the same words. You
see it was On epoch like, and sort of
fixed itself in their momories--and
what happened after fixed it firmeryet,
I've been manager on this station, up
behind here, eight years and | was
"boy" here lpo,ntinS with his pipe
stem to the ncorJ eight years at school
here in Gundaroo till l was fourteen
so suppose it must have been thirty
four years ago-near enough.
The colony was not settled near so
much as it is now. The coach from
sydney didn't reach Gundaroo not by
three days ride, and the mails were
carried on horseback, once a week, the
rest of the way. After the coach-road
for bit-say twenty miles-the track
was good enough, and there were sta
tions further than that, but by the end
of the first days ride you reached the
last house or hat you were TO see till
Won sighted Gundaroo.
The first night the mail-carrier put
up at "Paddy's Shanty," q sort of an
inn on the track. The next morning
he started-all alone, mind you, with
valuable mail.bags-across as nasty
piece of bush as you'll find in Austria
lis, and / suppose that says in the
world. 1t was all ti-tree scrub. If You
know what that is you'll understand.
Never seen any? Oh, well, its scrub
that is, all little tares, with their
leaves all on the top. All OF 'em
alike. Just too slender and weak to
bear mans climbing up one to look
round too far apart for you to swarm
up two at once, arms and legs, you
know and yet too close for you to see
sun or stars, night nor day. That sort
of scrub is the cruelest of all. If you
know your way, well and good ; but If
Won once get wrong, Lord help you
You're pushed as sure as you're alive.
Unless You chance on track, or come
across acamp you may lie downand give
it up. As long as your water-barr holds
out-so1l you. After that you may give
yourself day or two to die in perhaps
another two days, il you'rea tough sort.
Your bones II be there years after.
Well, that's what he had to ride through
for hours and hous the second day
and at night he ought to be about
through it, If he kept the track, and
made out TO reach the open again.
Then the track was across a fern gully,
with a creek at the bottom and there
he camped for the night. Then he had
an eighty.mile ride the next day,
straight through the Blue-gum forest
into GundarOo.
The chap that rode with the mails
then was a splendid fellow. Standard
his name was. Too heavy p'raps for
postman, as We understand EN-, but
Just the man for that work in those
DAYS. 1t wanted "A fellow full of pluck,
"a strong as horse, aud with all his
wits about him Besides the dangers
Of the track, ard creeks to ford, and
the heat. and the snakes at night, there
was the loneliness. That one fellow,
all alone in that great wild district,
riding through the hours in the perfect
stiffness under the sky no chance OF
seeing o soul, and probably not wanting
to neither, as things,was then. If any
one did just happen to come across
the mail. carriers il those daysit wasn't
generally for no good.
he used to say when mans got
her Majesty's precious mail-bags, with
her own red seals on 'em, in front of
the saddle, and only the usual number
of hands for pistols. and reins, and all,
he don't care much If he don't see no
one all the ride through" He wasn't
one TO boast, wasn't Standard ;s.but he
had once to defend the mails, with
three TO one against him, and tired for
manslaughter, too, for the way he done
it, and acquitted, and carried out OF the
court on the chaps shoulders. They
tell that tale still here in Gundaroo.
The time I'm telling you of vas in
the hot season. The ground was all
cracked and dry. There hadn't been o
drop Of rain for months and months,
and lots Of the creeks was empty. At
Gundaroo it had been very bad. and
the district round Was terrible in want
of water.
On the Saturday after New-Year's
Day, when Standard left "Paddys
Shanty," It was a hot wind, awful to
ride in. They thought rain was coming,
though.
The boss ut the shanty told Stand
ard, as he fixed np lis water-barrl be-
hind him on the saddle, that store
kecrer and his wife and child. and his
chum. had started the day before for IA
station where they'd got berth. They
had TO follow the Gundaroo track bit,
and then strike across the bush to the
station. at isn't for they've to go,
lie said, "but they're new chums, and |
the woman looked bit delicate, as
well as having a young baby to carry"
They've only two horses then, says |
standard, looking along the track, sun
less the third horse flew. ="
"No." says the boss "the woman
rode behind one of the men, turn and |
turn about. 4 fine young woman she
was, too"
Its to be hoped the chaps hadn't |
much else to carry, then, SAYS Stan
dard. 81 couldn't carry another cou-
pie of pounds-let alone a woman and
babylon Lady, without knocking
her up"
"Wen, you amt got to- says the
boss and laughs as he watches Stan
dard put Lady into steady canter
along tine track, where the two sets of
hoof-marks showed in the sand.
Lady was a fine black mare. Very |
swift INIT inst 8 thouOht too Eolt for |